A Destructive Flower
by Archdemon Slayer
Summary: A rumor has been going around about someone with power that exceeds the Demon Lord, but it was quickly dismissed. It just has to be someone's way of trying to get morale up. After all, this rumor came to be after the Great Hall Tragedy. Rated T for now, but the rating will go up later.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my response to watching the anime. I don't know about the light novel or game, but I found most characters severely underdeveloped. And even with the ones were somewhat, there were still several unanswered questions. The anime didn't get me interested in the characters. The manga, which does a better job of fleshing them out, did. This will try to flesh out most, if not all, those in Theo's party.**

**I tend to like anime with not just plenty of action, but lots of character development too. Take Wolf's Rain for example. Most of the episodes flesh out the four main characters and even side characters. But at the end, the show rips out your heart and stomps it mercilessly into the ground. With Record of the Grancrest War, the lack of character development caused me to have no reaction at all to tragic events.**

**Now while this will mainly focus on my OC, some scenes** **will focus on other characters in an attempt to flesh them out. These scenes will not have been shown in the anime or manga.**

**In the anime and manga, there are slight differences in the design of some characters. In this, they will have the design of the anime version of them, though Siluca won't have that white cape thing, even though the story for this will reflect the manga. But my needs for this story may change by then and I could have a new scenario laid out by then, so who knows. So their may be situations not depicted in the manga or anime.**

**I really love watching the Fate series, excluding DEEN's trainwreck of a Fate route anime and the shitty and way too rushed Unlimited Blade Works movie, so this will contain elements of Heaven's Feel to show my love of the three movies. After Ufotable finishes the final Heaven's Feel movie, Spring Song, I hope they remake the anime for the Fate route like how they made an anime show for Unlimited Blade Works. I also hope they animate Fate/hollow ataraxia.**

**Like how Fate/stay night is divided into 3 routes, each a different way the Fifth Holy Grail War could have gone down, this will act as another route for the Grancrest War.**

**The names will rely on how they're spelled on Netflix. For names that don't appear in the anime but exist in the manga, I will be relying on sources such as the wiki to spell them. So if some names don't appear right, just know it was most likely one that shows how it was spelled in Netflix.**

**For this first scene, I came up with it while watching Fate/Zero yet again.**

* * *

The large group consisting of humans and demons entered the cavern in the deepest part of the cave. Even though no openings in the rocky surroundings allowed light to enter, there was a faint violet glow in the area. At the other side of the cavern was a mound of earth that went halfway up to the ceiling. The mound was covered in cracks that beams of scarlet light leaked out of.

By a large dark purple - almost black - orb at the center of the top of the mound was a woman who looked to be in her 20s. Though her long silver hair that reached down to the middle of her back still had a slight shade of blue, most of the rest of her appearance had changed. Her eyes, once emerald green and bright, were now devoid of any shine, despite being bright yellow like the stars. Her usual clothes used to consist of ankle-length black pants and a white shirt with sleeves covering only her shoulders. Now they were gone, replaced by a pure black skin-tight dress. Her skin tone, once creamy, was now as pale as a ghost, making her look dead.

"I've been waiting for all of you." Like her eyes, her voice seemed lifeless.

"Hana, this is your last chance to stop," a young man, Theo, said firmly to the woman. To this, she barked a laugh.

"Really. Why would I stop now, especially when I'm so close to getting my hands on the ultimate Chaos? All I have to do in order to unlock the seal is to use a Holy Grail with the Grancrest. Even though it's corrupted, my Grail will work as the vessel. And as for the Grancrest, I'm now powerful enough to easily kill you Lords, regardless if you have demons at your side."

"Hana, I'm begging you to stop. If you don't, you'll end up killing everyone you call your comrades."

Hana narrowed her eyes at the artist who just spoke up. "Irvin, I already told you before that I don't care who ends up dying as long as I get what I want. And that includes you as well." She turned her attention back to everyone else and gave a small smile, looking forward to the carnage to come.

* * *

The woman who had just come into the room was probably in her early 20s. Her hair, while looking silver, had a light shade of blue to it. What really stood out were her eyes. They were a very bright and intense green. Her clothes were a pair of ankle-length black pants and a short-sleeved white shirt. On either side of her pants were sheathed short blades. They almost resembled a pair of long knives.

"What did -" She stopped herself when she laid eyes on the group of three people that she hadn't seen before. "Saturnus, who are these people?"

"They are the ones who drove out the former Lord," the elderly mage answered, glancing at her. She walked over until she was standing next to Saturnus. He looked back at the group and gestured to the woman. "This is Hana Almea, a mercenary the former Lord hired. Due to a recent attack, all of our soldiers and mercenaries but her were killed."

"Now I know our new Lord is named Theo," Hana looked at Irvin. "You look to be the oldest and probably most experienced. Are you Theo?"

Irvin laughed nervously. "No, I'm Irvin, a chamberlain serving Lady Siluca."

"Yeah, I was able to sense you have Chaos in you, so I thought it was a Crest," Then all of Irvin's words sunk in. "Wait, you're a chamberlain?!" She quickly looked over at the girl, who she assumed was Siluca. "Then is she an important person?!"

Now it was Siluca's turn to laugh nervously. "No, I'm just an ordinary mage contracted to Sir Theo."

"If that's true, then why do you have a chamberlain serving you?!"

"It's a long story."

Hana turned to Theo. "That only leaves you. You must be Theo. I can sense Chaos from you, but I thought you were an ordinary artist due to the low levels. So you must be a Lord of the same rank as our last one. So you might not be that reliable." Before Siluca could say anything in Theo's defense, Hana went over to him and extended her right hand for a handshake. "To put it bluntly, Mest Midrick was a dick. As long as you don't become like him, then I won't have any problems serving you."

Theo took her hand. "I promise I won't disappoint you."

Siluca crossed her arms. "Don't expect to be paid well. Sir Theo only just now became Lord of a territory."

"I'm fine with that," Hana replied. "A little pay will be better than none. And besides, depending on how I feel about Theo, I may serve him free of charge."

Siluca was still skeptical. "How do we even know you're worth keeping around?"

Saturnus was the one who answered her. "I assure you that she's quite skilled. Several of our mercenaries were artists. Despite not being one herself, her fighting ability outshines theirs. And as a bonus, she can sense Chaos running through someone or something. For example, she can tell if someone's an artist even if they hide their seal, or she can sense a nearby familiar sent to spy on you people."

"That's similar to my own ability," Siluca said. "But I'm only able to sense Chaos in the air, so she'll probably be useful to us."

"Come." Hana gestured for the three to follow her. "I'll show you around the castle."

Hana showed the three around the castle, showing them where rooms such as the bathrooms and mess hall and various other rooms were.

She took them to another door. "And this is the Lord's room. Next to it is the bedroom for the contracted mage, but Saturnus is currently using it. Siluca will have to use a guest room. There are various guest rooms scattered throughout the castle." She turned around. "I'll be heading to the barracks to sleep."

"You shouldn't go there to sleep. Take one of the guest rooms," Theo insisted. Hana stopped and looked back at him.

"Hm? Why?"

"You're an ally now. You should get to sleep in comfort."

"Fine. If it'll make you happy."

Siluca stepped in front of Theo. "But first, come with me to the roof, Sir Theo. I want to show you the land you rule over now."

* * *

The next day, Irvin returned to the castle after finishing the scouting duty assigned to him by Siluca. He could hear someone in the training room as he got near it while going down the hall. But with Theo and Siluca gone to check out this land's villages and Saturnus trying to negotiate for independence, the castle should be empty. A rather loud bang could be heard and Irvin decided to see who was causing the noise. He opened the door to the room. At that moment, a weapon like a miniature sword, but longer then a knife, flew right by the right side of his face, so close that a few strands of silver and black hair flew off. The weapon stuck in the wall behind him.

The thrower was the mercenary, Hana. She had heard the door open behind her and spun around fully to face the intruder, throwing her weapon but intending to have it miss the person's head and instead would serve to warn them. She relaxed a little once she saw who it was. "You're Irvin right? What are you doing here?"

Irvin turned around and went over to the deadly projectile that was thrown at his head. He yanked it out of the wall. The cutting edge of the blade had a blue wave pattern on it. "I though you had left the castle as well, Miss Hana, so I did not expect to hear someone in here."

"First, I train here at around this time of day every day. Second, please don't sneak up behind me like that again while I'm in here."

Irvin walked over to the woman and handed her blade back. "I don't recall sneaking up behind you. I merely opened the door."

Hana took it back. "Yeah, well I treat it the same if someone barges in here without knocking. Everyone here in the castle when Mest was Lord knew to knock on this room's door before entering. I didn't tell you guys because I though you all possessed at least that much common sense."

"I appologize, but I avoided knocking in case what I was hearing was someone trying to break into the castle by coming through the walls."

Hana blushed in shame. "Yeah, I guess I was being a little loud. Mest has occasionally had to tell me to keep the noise in here down. But I get too wrapped up in swinging my blades that I forget to watch the noise level."

"Which is why you threw one of your swords at my head."

"I'm sorry about that!"

Then Irvin looked behind Hana at the training room. The stone walls were decorated with deep cuts around mounted targets where a large majority of the wood making them up had been slashed to splinters. Wooden dummies littering the room had been cut to almost nothing. Targets meant for punching had been blown off their posts and smashed into the wall so hard that they made craters on impact.

"I see that Sir Saturnus was not lying when he said you fight like an artist."

"Well, even though these are stationary targets, the result would be around the same even if they were enemies."

Irvin turned around and began to head through the doorway. "I'll let you resume training."

"Wait, you're a chamberlain. How about we spar?"

"I'd like to, but Lord Theo and Lady Siluca should be returning soon. Perhaps after."

Whatever stalled them, it wasn't until the sun set that Theo and Siluca entered the castle. By then, Irvin had cooked a meal that he and Hana ate.

The two waited for the Lord and mage in the hall. Hana crossed her arms when the two came close. "About time! What took the both of you?!"

"Please refrain from raising your voice indoors," Irvin said with a glance at the mercenary. "But I am also curious, Lady Siluca. You said you and Lord Theo would be back before it was time to eat. Did something happen?"

Siluca spoke up before Theo could. "Nothing!" It was immediate and she was blushing.

Hana and Irvin sweatdropped. _'Did something happen?' _Hana was sure that Irvin was probably wondering the same thing.

"Anyway, Lady Siluca, should I cook something for you and Lord Theo?" Irvin asked.

Siluca coughed in her hand, trying to hide her embarrassment. "No. Sir Theo and I already ate in one of the villages." She shot a glare at Theo then looked back at Irvin. "Anyway, I have a meeting with the villagers tomorrow. This time, Lord Theo will be staying here."

"Wait, why can't I go?!" Theo exclaimed.

Siluca shot him another glare. "You did nothing but goof off with them today. If you do the same thing tomorrow, nothing will get done. Also, beginning tomorrow, you'll spar with Irvin each day. No offense, but your current strength leaves much to be desired."

"Ugh, fine..." Theo grumbled, slumping his shoulders.

Irvin spoke up. "If that is all, Lady Siluca, then I will take my leave with Miss Hana. I told her that I would spar with her once you and Lord Theo returned."

"Oh. Well, I'll come watch you two spar." Siluca glanced at Hana. "This will give me a chance to see how you are in combat."

"I happened to walk in on her training today. She left the training room in quite the mess. It looked very promising," Irvin added.

Theo sighed then spoke up. "I'll come watch, too. May as well see what I'll be getting into with Irvin."

"Very well." He turned around and the three followed him down several more halls until he stopped at a door leading to a garden the castle surrounded. "We should spar in the courtyard where we'll have more room."

"Okay," Hana said. Irvin opened the door and the ones behind him went out with him. The moon shone down on the area, making it clear to see the two people sparring. Siluca and Theo stood by a pillar a healthy distance away. Hana and Irvin faced each other, a gap of around ten meters between them.

Irvin got two knives, holding one in each hand. "Don't hold back."

Hana grinned and pulled out her two swords. "Same to you."

Irvin was the first to move. He came at Hana so fast that he was almost a blur. He slashed at Hana with the knife in his right hand. But instead of her trying to block, she ducked under the attack and held her blabes at either side of her body, ready to counterattack. At the same time Irvin struck out with one arm, he swung down his other knife at the top of Hana's head. She didn't strike at Irvin like he thought she would. She instead slid back just out of his striking range.

_'Can she see my movements even at this speed?!'_ Irvin wondered.

While staying low to the ground, Hana dug the blade of one of her swords into the ground. She flicked it up, spraying dirt into the air. Irvin, leaning a little forward due to his downward swing, was temporarily blinded. Hana jumped up so she was even with his head and launched a kick to the side of it.

Irvin held up his right arm to block it. She quickly pulled her leg back and swung her swords at either side of Irvin's neck. He jumped back, the sharp points just brushing over the skin of his throat.

_'He should have been blinded. Was he rellying only on instinct to know where my attacks would be coming at him?'_

He crouched when he landed and sprang at Hana, releasing a ferocious flurry of attacks. Hana was able to defend against each strike, watching each swipe carefully for an opening.

During his slashes, Irvin seemed to vanish. Hana quickly sensed where his Chaos was coming from now and was able to react fast enough to spin around, swinging one of her swords at Irvin's face. The artist had a brief look of surprise as he held up the knife he was going to hold to her neck to block the strike.

_'So his intent was to use a sneaky move like that to end this session.'_

She swung one leg over the ground to sweep Irvin's out from under him. He started to jump back, but Hana made sure to stay right in front of him. She grabbed the collar of his suit and yanked him toward her so his face was almost touching hers. Then she made the move to end this match.

She froze her sword right at Irvin's throat, the sharp edge touching but not breaking the skin. However, it wasn't her win.

"Well, shit," she said, her eyes looking down. A knife was held to the side of her neck, right over her jugular.

They pulled away from each other. Hana let go of Irvin and sheathed her blades. Irvin put his knives away and straightened out his collar.

Theo sweatdropped and laughed nervously. "Jeez, those two were moving so fast it was hard to keep track of them. Irvin's...Irvin's not going to go that hard on me, right? Siluca?"

Siluca sighed. "That's why I'm having you train with him. You need to get stronger."

"But he'll go slow with me?" Siluca didn't reply. "Siluca?!"

She walked over to Hana. "I'm impressed. You ended this with Irvin in a stalemate. You could actually prove useful in our battles." She turned around and began walking back to the castle. "Now that I know what you're capable of, I need to incorporate you into my strategies."

Theo followed her, still demanding to know how hard Irvin would go on him. The door closed, leaving Hana and Irvin alone outside.

"I actually didn't go all-out," Hana started, turning to Irvin. Then she turned her gaze to the man sitting beside her. "But you also held back, didn't you?"

"You guessed correctly. My knife throwing could have harmed or even killed you if you were not quick enough to deflect them. In order to prevent that, I refrained from using it. So, what were you hiding?"

"Despite not being an artist, I'm able to manipulate Chaos in my body. Pumping Chaos throughout my body strengthens my muscles. Using that, I am able to run at inhuman speeds, jump great hights, kick with great strength, or strengthen my arms for devastating punches or lifting heavy things and hurling them. I can also strengthen my weapons so they cut harder. But I only did the running and jumping. Anything else just to break through your guard could have seriously injured you if you didn't defend against them right."

"Well, I need to go and report to Lady Siluca," Irvin said, walking to the door back into the castle.

* * *

The next day, Hana came out of the training room only to encounter Theo in the hall. He was soaked in sweat.

"Judging from the fact he's a chamberlain and you're drenched in sweat, Irvin must have kicked your ass?" Hana grinned as she said this. She and Theo began walking side-by-side down the hall to the study.

Theo sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Jeez, do you get enjoyment from seeing someone else suffer?" He groaned in annoyance. "What the hell was Siluca thinking, having me spar with _him_?"

"Just to let you know, if it were me sparring with you instead, I wouldn't have been any less rough."

Theo glared at her out of the corner of one eye. "Gee, thanks. Well, I'm gonna check up on Siluca and maybe give her a piece of my mind. What about you?"

"I'll be reading in my room."

"Huh, so you actually like to learn about things. I thought you only cared about fighting."

"Well, at least I'm smart. Unlike _some _people." She giggled.

"Hey! It's not that bad!"

"From what Siluca implied yesterday, it is." She walked away from Theo before he could retort at her.

"...She can be unpleasant," Theo said under his breath.

* * *

Three days later, the door into the study where Siluca was opened and Irvin walked into the room. He was flanked on either side by Theo and Hana.

"Lady Siluca, I have brought Lord Theo and Miss Hana as per your request."

"Thanks, Irvin. Now -"

"Siluca, there are enemies coming to the castle!" Theo shouted, cutting Siluca off. "What are we gonna do?!"

A vein was bulging on Siluca's forehead, but she took a deep breath to calm herself down. "The day after you became Lord of this land, I had Irvin scout our surroundings to see if any Lord of the Alliance would seize the chance to conquer a land of the Union surrounded by enemies. He informed me that a Lord by the name of Lassic David from the neighboring land of Sevis gathered 50 soldiers as well as some mercenaries and began marching toward us. So I've been aware of them for a few days. You remember me talking to Sir Balygary three days ago right? Well, he's getting a friend of mine to help us win."

Theo was silent, staring at Siluca. The teen blushed. "What?"

"Siluca, you have friends?"

"Seriously, Sir Theo?! First Irvin and now you, what do you both think of me?!" Siluca shouted. Irvin just stayed silent while Theo did his best to try and calm the mage down. "Anyway, you'll be staying here with our 10 newly recruited soldiers while myself, Irvin, Hana, and my friend fight, Sir Theo."

"But why can't I be a part of the fighting?!" Theo demanded.

"You're this land's Lord," Siluca replied sharply. "If you end up getting captured, then we lose!"

"Grr...Fine!"

Siluca looked surprised. "Huh, I thought you'd argue with me."

Irvin spoke up. "It seems he has grown somewhat."

Hana grinned and punched the palm of her hand. "We just need to kill anyone getting in our way of capturing the enemy Lord, right?"

Siluca sighed. "Try to knock out people and only kill if you really need to."

Hana pouted. "Fine, whatever. Killjoy."

Theo turned to her. "I was right! You DO enjoy seeing others in pain!"

Galloping outside could be heard. "She's here!" Siluca dashed out of the castle and stood at the drawbridge to the entrance. The other three followed her out.

There was a horse galloping toward the castle, from another direction the enemies were coming from. Riding it was a person. As the horse drew near, they could see it was a woman with long purple hair, red eyes, and wearing valkarie armor. Over her left eye, on her left shoulder, and on her left thigh was a demon seal. She was an artist.

Siluca looked back at Theo, Irvin, and Hana. "You guys may wanna stand back..."

Before any of them could ask her what she meant, the woman jumped from the horse and threw off her armor, leaving only a black choker, a short black skirt, and a black shirt that only covered her breasts.

"Si. Lu. CA!"

The woman landed hard on Siluca, hugging and groping her. The other three simultaneously sweatdropped.

Theo was the first to talk. "...And this is..?"

"Come on! Get off me!...This is Aishela - Where are you putting your hands?! - an artist friend of mine - Stop grabbing my boobs!"

"I can't help it! You're _so_ cute!" Aishela said happily. Then she shot Theo a glare. "And _he's _the Lord you formed a contract with?!"

Theo sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I take it I didn't meet your expectations?"

Aishela got off Siluca and stormed over to Theo, putting her hands on her hips. "I hope you haven't taken advantage of her."

"Don't worry! I haven't even thought of it!"

Aishela looked taken aback. "You haven't?! Let me tall you what you're missing out on!" Then she grabbed Siluca.

"Aishela!"

"She has all this smooth skin, not to mention..."

"Eek! Get your hands out of there!"

Aishela had just pushed her hands up Siluca's shirt to grab her boobs. "...She has these!"

"Aishela! Just put you equipment back on! The enemy is almost here!"

"Fine. I just want to hurry and begin killing!" Aishela said while licking her lips.

"...Another bloodthirsty one. I'm sure she and Hana will get along _great_," Theo grumbled. Hana, who was in earshot, turned to him.

"Let's get one thing clear: I AM NOT bloodthirsty!"

Theo glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "So you just enjoy inflicting pain and watching others take it?"

"You have a smartass mouth!"

"Okay, break it up before any infighting begins," Siluca said.

Hana stpped arguing and went back to staring at Aishela, who was selecting her weapon. "...What is with her?"

Irvin, who was standing next to Hana, replied. "She seems to be a violent type of artist."

"No, I mean why was she doing _that _to Siluca?"

"She and Miss Aishela are adoptive sisters. Although they aren't related by blood, they seem rather close, although Lady Siluca tells me they aren't."

Something tumbled out of the basket on Aishela's horse and sprawled out flat on the ground. What came out was a black cat. "...I...I thought I was going to die..."

"Sir Balygary!" Siluca exclaimed. "Are you okay?!"

Hana dashed to it. "Aw, he's so cute!"

Despite the fact he looked to be on death's door, as soon as she got close, Balygary looked at her, tensed up, and hissed at her, making Hana stop, disappointment on her face. Balygary stopped hissing and looked confused, as if he himself didn't know why he did what he did. "My apologies. I probably reflexively did that because whenever I hear those words they're usually coming from Aishela's mouth."

Siluca came over to him. "I asked too much of you, didn't I?"

"No, I should have known something like this was in store for me the moment I agreed to fetch Aishela."

"Regardless, you should rest in your shadow for now."

"Right..." Balygary began sinking down into the shadow below him. "Well, call on me if you need my help again."

Siluca turned to Hana. "You should get your battle gear on as well."

"Okay." Hana rushed into the castle to grab her swords. On her way back out after she grabbed them from her room, she ran into Irvin. He was wearing an orange-and-black shirt and black pants.

He saw that Hana had not changed her outfit. "You aren't going to wear anything new?"

"Nah, this is easy to move in. Besides, I feel like we're the only ones they're waiting for now."

Outside, Aishela was wearing all her armor and wielding a bladed hammer. Siluca had discarded her jacket, unveiling a rather revealing outfit.

"You know, that outfit doesn't leave much to the imagination," Hana said as she and Irvin walked over to the others, showing Siluca a little pity, since the mage was reduced to being eye candy for creepy guys.

Siluca blushed. "It's easier to move around in this!"

"Whatever." Hana and the others lined up next to each other, facing the approaching enemy forces. The soldiers had split down three paths to the castle.

"Here's the plan: Aishela will take the ones on the left. Irvin will take the center. I'll handle the right." She glanced at Hana, who was standing next to Theo. "Hana, I want you to fight alongside Irvin."

Hana glanced at her. "Hm?"

Even though he wasn't the subject of the conversation, Theo spoke up. "Why is that?"

Aishela glanced at him. "Why concern yourself with the duties of others? You should just be focused on your own task."

"I'm not worried. Just curious," Theo replied.

"Irvin will going to Lord Lassic," Siluca explained. "Given that he's crucial for the enemy, he may have a few surprises in store. Now these shouldn't prove a problem for him, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Aishela can't go because she'll get too wrapped up in fighting and will go off on her own. I'll be taking on the enemy mage. And I already told you that you'll be staying here." She turned to Theo. "Don't you dare follow us in secret. If you do, it'll ruin the plan. And if the enemy manages to get here, don't try to fight back. Just surrender. Got it?"

"Huh?"

Siluca smiled. "But don't worry. That'll only happen if all of us die."

Theo looked at Siluca with a serious expression. "Just make sure you don't die, Siluca. I won't forgive you if you do."

"Gee, no concern for the rest of us?" Hana grumbled. "Let's hurry and get this battle over with." She, Irvin, and Aishela took a large leap forward. But only Irvin and Hana stayed together. They hit the dirt path and took off, keeping perfect pace with each other.

Irvin glanced at Hana. "I hope you're ready."

Hana smirked. "Heh, as ready as I'll ever be!" Then the two broke off, each going for a different group of soldiers.

An enemy tried to use the blade of his sword to block Hana's downward slash, but the cutting edge of her weapon sliced through the defense like it was made of butter. The solder ended up with a long and deep slice, starting at his head and nearly cutting him in half completely, going through the metal armor like it wasn't even there. When several soldiers went at Hana with drawn blades, she simply grabbed a large boulder and tossed it at them, taking them all out.

Another soldier ran up behind Hana with the intent of cutting her down. Irvin, who was currently busy fighting off a group of soldiers, wouldn't be able to come to her aid in time.

Hana simply smirked as the soldier drew near, as she was already aware of him. When he was right behind her and swung his sword at her neck, she spun around, sheathing one of her swords and punched him in the gut. This sent him flying back, crashing through a few trees and making a large cloud of dust form each time, including when he finally hit the ground. The enemy Lord was the next person she was facing. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Irvin was finished with the soldiers he was dealing with and was now also facing Lassic.

"Are you an artist?!" Lassic demanded, staring at Hana and the damage she was causing. The Lord was a blonde man wearing dark grey armor and a red cape with fur edges.

"No," Hana replied. "I've attempted it several times, but each time, the Chaos vanishes from me like it's being absorbed. And while I'm flattered my fighting ability reminds you of an artist, I'm afraid it won't be enough to save your life."

"And you!" Lassic turned his glare to Irvin. "Are you an artist?!"

"Yes, but to be exact, I am a chamberlain."

_'What the hell is a chamberlain doing here?!' _"Just my rotten luck," Lassic grumbled. "Not only do I have to fight a chamberlain, but also someone who fights like an artist." He looked back at his remaining fighters. " You handle these two, Captain Gracq!"

A large man in a grey cloak stepped forward. The cloak fluttered to the ground, revealing long demon seals on his head. He grunted then his skin turned a dark grey.

"...Chaos just spread over his entire body," Hana said to Irvin.

"Well, it won't do him much good when he's dead." Irvin threw the knife he was holding at the artists' chest, where his heart would be. But as soon as the blade hit the skin, it shattered. "...No good. His skin must be ether."

Lassic was laughing loudly. "You probably didn't expect us to also have an artist, much less one with the ability to harden his skin!"

"Fine!" Hana shot forward. "Let's see how he deals with this!"

"Wait, Hana!" Irvin exclaimed, starting to move forward to back her up.

"Just stay there, Irvin!"

Hana's shout made him halt. Gracq tried to punch down on the woman, but she easily wove out of the way of the fist. She grabbed the large man's waist and lifted him off the ground.

"Urgh!" He was much too heavy for her to lift easily. She then chucked him into a tree, snapping it like a twig. But instead of being stunned, Gracq came charging at the woman having to stop in order to catch her breath.

"Hana!" Irvin shot forward and grabbed Hana, pulling her away before Gracq's kick could shatter her ribs. He then threw two knives at Gracq. They didn't pierce his skin, but the succeeded in obtaining the man's attention.

He ran at Irvin, throwing punch after punch at the chamberlain. He managed to dodge each one.

"Hey, Ugly!"

Gracq turned. Hana had jumped at him. But the sun was behind her, blinding the mercenary as he tried to look up at her. She then threw a kick to the side of his head. It was strong enough to knock him down. As soon as Gracq got up, Irvin appeared behind the man and attempted to knock him unconscious. But due to the hardness of Gracq's skin, he couldn't hit the pressure point.

Gracq spun around, swinging a backfist at Irvin's head. The man crossed his arms in front of his head to absorb the blow but ended up getting thrown back, his body throwing up dirt and grass as he hit it hard.

"I'm not done with you yet!"

Hana appeared in front of Gracq and punched him in the gut. This made him take several steps back and spit out some blood.

Hana was sweating and breathing hard, but she could still fight. Irvin, who got up, was also sweating, but he didn't look as exhausted as Hana.

"Lord of the neighboring land, I, Theo, the Lord of this land, have captured your mage!"

At that moment, all fighting seemed to have stopped. Hana looked behind Lassic at the top of a hill, where the voice had come from. When, and why, did Theo leave the castle?!

The tied-up mage next him was a man with brown hair. He wore a green jacket over a white shirt.

"Moreno!" Lassic exclaimed. Then a moment passed. "We give up!"

His voice could be heard all over the battlefield. Soldiers dropped their weapons. Gracq sighed and skin returned to the color of pale flesh.

Lassic went over to Theo and bowed. "Allow me to serve you."

"You should accept," Siluca, behind Theo, told him.

Moreno faced him. "Lord Lassic, you can't be serious! Serving someone else, are you just throwing away your goal to aim higher?!"

"I'm not throwing anything away," Lassic told him.

"Look, if this is just because I was captured -"

"Look, my goal is to aim higher, but I can't do that if you're dead."

Moreno looked to be about to protest, but then turned away with a huff. "Fine! Do whatever!"

Lassic gave a small smile. "Sorry about that, Lord Theo."

"It's okay. You seem to have a good mage."

"Yeah, I trust him a lot. Now," he clenched his right hand and presented the back of it. "I, Lassic David, offer you my Crest."

"I, Theo, accept it."

There was a flash of light and Theo's new Crest was presented. Adding Lassic's Crest to it, it had grown in size so much that it was at least two times bigger.

"Whoa," he gasped.


	2. Chapter 2

**The relationship between Lassic and Moreno reminds me of the one between Iskandar and Waver from Fate/Zero, making it impossible for me to dislike them. Those two are my favorite Master-Servant pair. Lassic acts a lot like the Rider Servant and Moreno seems to sport an inferiority complex like Waver. This is also helped by the fact that Moreno's English voice actor is the same as Waver's.**

**Most of my inspiration for Hana's backstory comes from the song "Tell Me What the Rain Knows" from the end of episode 26 of Wolf's Rain. It's a beautiful song with a hint of despair that's present in the show's 30 episodes.**

**Also, this marks the start of changes to the original story that will get more and more drastic as this story goes on.**

* * *

A few days ago, Theo and Lassic set out to several areas of Sevis around Lassic's old territory nd conquering them. With them were Siluca, Aishela, Moreno, and all of Lassic's remaining forces. Siluca even brought the recruited soldiers to give them battle experience.

The lack of people in the castle during this time would normally leave it defenseless. That's why Siluca had Irvin and Hana stay behind to defend it. Normally, only Irvin would be left behind, but if the castle got attacked while the others are away, who knows what the number of enemies would be? If it's too many, the others could come back only to find Irvin's corpse and the castle overrun. Siluca figured Irvin and Hana work well together, as Gracq said that during the battle Lassic waged, he became overwhelmed by the two. They should be fine on guard duty.

Siluca also suggested on having Aishela stay behind, but she insisted on being there to protect the young mage. Also, during the battle against Lassic and his troops, Aishela took a liking to Petr, a teenage boy who was the leader of Lassic's soldiers. Perhaps part of the reason the valkyrie wanted to go was because Petr was also going?

"I'm bored," Hana complained to Irvin. He closed his eyes and sighed. Sure, the two weren't faced with anything for the past few days that required them to fight back, but that was no excuse for the mercenary to complain multiple times every day over the last couple of days that she's bored. The two started guard duty five days ago.

The two would enter the castle only to eat. Irvin would normally be the one to cook the meals, but the last three days and today saw Hana helping out with cooking as well as cleaning the dishes. With needs such as showering, changing clothes, or other daily needs, one would go into the castle while the other stayed outside. As soon as they were done, they would go back outside. Irvin would go in several times to clean the castle. It was during those times Hana would be seen outside alone.

At night, the two would keep watch together. Irvin had insisted that he would handle it, but Hana stubbornly refused each time.

_'You shouldn't have to handle this alone.'_

_'You sure are stubborn, Miss Hana.'_

_'You can be too, much to my surprise.'_

The two would often talk about random things. Then Hana asked Irvin a question about himself one night.

'_Irvin, I heard from Siluca that before the Great Hall Tragedy, you were a servant of the Kreische family. But after it, you chose to remain a servant. Why? Honestly, at your skill level, you'd make a great mercenary.'_

_'I chose to remain a servant because it's the only thing I know how to do. Besides, this is my way of atoning for failing to save my master.'_

Later, Irvin asked Hana about what's making her stay.

_'Miss Hana, why do you remain here?'_

_'Didn't I say it was to see what kind of Lord Theo will be?'_

_'I doubt that's the only reason.'_

_'Fine, fine, I'll tell you. It's because I... don't really have a home to return to.'_

_Irvin looked at Hana with surprise. 'Why is that?'_

_An image passed through Hana's vision. Blood everywhere and demons prowling through a ruined village._

_'I don't want to talk about it now. Maybe later.'_

During points of each night, Hana would clearly be trying to keep her eyes open. At that time, Irvin would try once again to get her to retire to her bed roll.

_'Miss Hana, maybe you should go to sleep...'_

_'M not tired...'_

_'It would be more convincing if you weren't resting on my shoulder...'_

One night, Hana woke up. She had fallen asleep during night watch. Then she quickly found out she had been sleeping on Irvin's lap. At that moment, her entire face went red and her entire body jolted upright in a sitting position.

_'Ir-Irvin! Why didn't you wake me so I could go to the bed roll?!'_

Irvin didn't reply and Hana quickly scoot herself away from him, missing the way Irvin continued to stare at her. He was trained not to show emotions, but there was no mistaking the fact Irvin felt his cheeks heat up.

Right now, Hana narrowed her eyes at the dirt path leading out of the territory. "Jeez, when are they getting back?"

Irvin sighed again. "Please stop complaining."

"Oh come on, I bet you're bored too." Then Hana's head perked up. Irvin glanced at her.

"Is something wrong?" Hana didn't reply for a few seconds. Well, if you don't include the fact that she placed one of her hands on the handle of one of her swords and gripping it hard. "Miss Hana?"

"We're about to have company, Irvin." Hana kept her glare fixed on the trees on one side of the dirt path. "I sense something with a lot of Chaos heading this way." A second later the trees burst and something like a large metallic, dark blue wheel came spinning out. And it was aiming right at Hana. "The hell?!" She ripped out both swords and held them up like an X in front of her body. The wheel-like thing collided with the defense, failing to break it. "Get lost!" Hana shot Chaos into her arms, enabling her to shove the enemy back a few meters.

The enemy unrolled itself, revealing a large, four-legged monster that resembled a lizard. The dark blue scales on its body reflected the sunlight. Running from the top of its head to the base of its tail were a series of giant, thick scales. Its dark red eyes were fixed on Hana and it snarled softly. Its long black claws flexed and raked the ground.

"Why is a Mythyr here?!" Hana demanded. "I though demons only come to places with large amounts of Chaos, but here isn't one!"

"We'll think about it later!" Irvin replied as he pulled out six knives, three in both hands, one between each finger. "We have a duty to protect this place! Get it on its back!"

While a Mythyr is heavily armored, the same isn't true of its pale pink underbelly. Scales don't cover that area, making it vulnerable if it's knocked onto its back.

"No problem. Demons seem to really hate me for some reason, so keeping the Mythyr's attention should be easy." Hana sprang forward at it. "How about I take out my frustration on you?!"

The Mythyr roared and rolled its body back up. But before it could roll at Hana, she stepped to the side of it and punched it. The demon was sent crashing into a tree, the shock from the impact making it unroll. It started to get up, but Hana suddenly appeared by it and jammed one of her swords through the middle of its tail, pinning it to the ground.

While its tail did have scales, the tail was thick at the base and slowly tapered to a point. This also meant that the scales got thinner the further down the long tail they were. And despite looking to be some kind of lizard, the Mythyr is unable to detach its tail.

The Mythyr turned its head to snap at her, but she simply kicked it in the chin, making its head snap back and expose its pale throat. As soon as the vulnerable area was revealed, three silver lights flew towards it and sunk into the soft flesh. Another two were flung at the demon during the brief moment it froze due to the pain. The two accurately-thrown weapons sunk into both of its eyes, blinding it.

"Nice shot, Irvin!" Hana followed it up by ripping her sword out of the tail then lunging at the Mythyr's head, plunging the ends of both her swords into its throat. "Now die already!" Both of her hands flicked, her swords ripping two gashes in its throat. She jumped back just in time to avoid a weak claw swipe at her. One last snarl rumbled from it before its entire body went slack in the rapidly-forming puddle of blood.

"Take the Chaos Core," Hana said to Irvin, who was standing next to her. "You need to absorb Chaos in order to gain strength. I know you're pretty strong right now, but more strength is always better."

Chaos was coming from the dead demon. The tendrils were forming a ball of darkness, the Chaos Core. Irvin walked over to it and he stuck his right hand into it. This seemed to trigger the Chaos into shrinking as it went into Irvin's body. His demon seal felt like it was burning through his shoulder, but he didn't show any pain on his face. He was used to taking Chaos into his body but that didn't stop him from grunting due to the pain.

As Hana watched Irvin absorb the Chaos Core, she realized a large amount of saliva had built up in her mouth, as if she was witnessing a delicious meal. That was weird. Why was it doing that?

* * *

Later that day, the others returned. Along with captured soldiers, they also had Neman, a Lord neighboring where Lassic used to rule. Like the soldiers that had been captured, his wrists were bound with ropes.

"I see you all have returned safely," Irvin said when the horse-drawn cart holding Theo, Siluca, Lassic, and Moreno pulled up to the castle gate. Everyone else was on foot behind the cart.

"Yeah, and the villagers here gave me a gift on our way back," Theo said. He then heaved a large sack over the side of the ground. It was so big that it was already touching the ground when Theo let go of it. "It's pretty heavy."

Hana was staring at it in amazement. "Holy shit! That thing's _huge_! Was that really from the villagers?!"

"Yes," Siluca replied. "The villagers said that ever since Sir Theo became Lord, their lives have been much better."

"I can understand that," Hana said. "Mest wasn't exactly the best Lord to his people."

Siluca's gaze went back to the sack. "I'm actually surprised the villagers managed to get their hands on all of this..."

"Anyway, its been decided that we'll use that food to throw a party!" Lassic exclaimed, flashing a large grin.

Moreno sighed and crossed his arms. "I keep saying this is a bad idea. Some of our men get rather violent when drunk..."

* * *

Siluca had Irvin cook the meals for the party. Hana insisted on helping him once he was out of earshot. This, of course, made the others minus the soldiers and mercenaries question her on why. She then proceeded to tell them about the fact she didn't know how much, if any, sleep he got during those four nights.

"I'm just worried that he's too exhausted," Hana was saying. "Plus we killed a demon this afternoon and Irvin took its core. Now, I may not be an artist, but I know that doing causes stress on the body. Add in his probable lack of sleep, and I can't help but feel sorry for Irvin."

Aishela grinned at Hana. "You're _worried_ for him, did I hear that right?"

Hana's cheeks went red at the stress Aishela put on 'worried'. "He's just an ally of mine, that's all!"

"Uh-huh..."

Hana went even redder, but now in anger. When she spoke, her voice was now high-pitched enough that it was almost squeaking. "I'm serious! That's all it is! Isn't it normal for someone to worry for their own ally?!"

Theo looked confused. "What's Aishela trying to say?"

Siluca sighed. "I have a feeling that if any of us answer, Hana will end up beating the stuffing out of us."

"So you two killed a demon while we were away," Moreno said, changing the topic. "But why did it come here?"

"This isn't the first time its happened either," Hana said, calming down. "Ever since I left my village last year, I always seem to encounter strong demons or a large group of weaker ones. And what made it really strange was that I was with a bunch of mercenaries shortly after. We'd encounter these, but they'd ignore the others and go after me."

"Maybe you have something they want?" Theo suggested.

"I'm not sure. If I do, then I don't have a clue as to what it could be," Hana replied. "Anyway, I'd better head to the kitchen now so I can help Irvin."

"Well, I'll be using the bath while you two are getting ready!" Aishela said. She then looked at Siluca. "Siluca! Come join me!"

Siluca took a step back. "Wait, why?!"

Aishela came over and grabbed Siluca, holding her over one shoulder. "We're sisters! Does it matter?"

"Yes it does!" Aishela was walking towards the door into the hall, ignoring Siluca. "Baths should be taken alone! Are you even listening?! Sir Theo, please hel -" She was cut off when Aishela shut the door behind her.

Lassic continued to stare at that closed door. "She's certainly...forceful. I think I understand why Petr's afraid of her."

"Those five days, you didn't?!" Theo exclaimed.

* * *

"Why did you say that to Hana? You should've known it would rile her up," Siluca said to Aishela. The two were sitting next to each other in one of the castle's baths.

"I don't know," Aishela admitted. "I just felt like teasing her is all. She and Irvin were alone for a few days after all."

"...It was just me and Irvin for a while too. But I don't hear you teasing me," Siluca pointed out.

Aishela glanced at Siluca. "Did you want me to?"

"Of course not!"

Aishela giggled and then looked forward again. "Honestly, I had no idea what was going on in your life for several months. Balygary brought me up to speed, but when he tried to tell me several times that nothing was going on between you two, I refused to listen." Aishela held up a trembling fist. "All I heard was that _a man _was alone with _my sister_! I was ready to chew him out as soon as I saw him!" She lowered her fist back into the water. "Then when I saw the two of you, I was able to sense the absence of that spark."

"And what about Sir Theo? You ragged on him."

Aishela turned her entire body to face Siluca. "That's because you have a contract with him! I can ignore you making a pact with a Lord, but you had to form one with a _male_?!" She grabbed Siluca and hugged her tightly. "I don't want anyone stealing you away from me!"

"Aishela! For the millionth time, I can decide what's right for me!"

* * *

Hana went into the kitchen, seeing Irvin starting to wash the vegetables. He looked over his shoulder when he heard the door open, seeing the mercenary walk over and stand next to him at the counter.

"Is there something you need?" he asked.

Hana began to wash some of the vegetables. "No. I just wanted to give you a hand."

"While I appreciate you trying to help me, I am a butler. I am perfectly capable of handling this on my own. There's no need for you to serve others."

"You stayed awake the four nights we were alone. I know a couple nights, I sent you to bed during then -"

" -As I recall, you grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me onto my bed roll."

Hana's cheeks went red. "Well you refused... Like I was saying, you don't snore when you sleep, so I don't know if you were pretending. Anyway, I just want to take some of the load off you before you suddenly collapse."

"I believe I already told you that I'm used to staying up all night. I'm not going to randomly drop."

"That isn't the way someone should live." Hana was getting the meat ready to be cooked.

"You are sure stubborn about this."

"So are you."

Silence filled the air most of the rest of the time. It ended when Irvin and Hana ended up reaching for the salt at the same time, causing their hands to bump against each other. Hana's blush was so faint that it was almost unnoticeable, but it was definitely there.

"S-Sorry!" Hana stammered, quickly pulling her hand back.

"Don't worry. It was my fault for getting in your way." Irvin wasn't blushing, but he could feel his face heating up. Perhaps the temperature in here went up?

* * *

Theo, Lassic, and Moreno were seated at a table in a room by the mess hall.

"This place isn't high in Chaos. And yet why did Hana and Irvin encounter a demon..?" Moreno murmured while holding a hand to his chin.

"Well, Hana did say that demons go after her for some reason," Lassic pointed out. "Maybe they're drawn to her."

Moreno leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Then it's likely we'll continue to be attacked by demons as long as she's with us."

Theo spoke up. "Hey, we don't know that for certain. Maybe it was just a coincidence."

"Or maybe not."

"In any case, we should have increased castle watches," Lassic said. "Who knows when the next demon attack will be."

"I'll discuss it with Siluca when she and Aishela return," Theo said.

* * *

Once the food was brought out, the mess hall was filled with soldiers and mercenaries quickly becoming drunk. Irvin was making his way to the door to the hall before he found himself in the middle of a drunken brawl when he was stopped by Hana slinging one arm over his shoulder.

"Hey, Irvin, relax a little and have a drink!" Hana said, shoving a mug in his face. Judging by the fact she was blushing and that her speech was slurred, she was already drunk.

Irvin took a step back. "I appologize, but I won't be joining in the festivities."

Hana pulled the mug back and pouted, her cheeks puffing out. "You're no fun."

Aishela came running over to Hana, swinging one arm over the mercenary's shoulders. She was also hammered. "Aw, don't let that spoilsport ruin your fun! By the way, have you met Petr yet?"

"Isn't he the runt you were hanging onto earlier tonight?"

"That's him. You've gotta meet him! He's _so _cute!"

"Sure! I wanna meet the kid who was in charge of a bunch of soldiers!"

"Don't go claiming him now. I've got dibs on him."

"You shouldn't worry about that. He's not my type."

"Oh? Then who is?"

Irvin decided to walk away from the two when he heard a knock on the door to the outside. He opened it, revealing a man. Judging by the state of his clothes, he was probably from one of the villages.

"Is there something you need from Lord Theo?" Irvin asked.

"Can you give him a message?" was the reply. "A fire broke out in our village and we need his help!"

"A fire? I don't mean to sound rude, but couldn't the people in your village put it out yourselves?"

"This isn't a normal fire! It's caused by Chaos!"

"Chaos?! Are you sure?!"

"Yeah. It came about spontaneously and some of us can sense trace amounts of Chaos. They sensed some from the fire!"

As the man was talking, Irvin could smell a hint of smoke in the air. The mentioned village must be the one closest to the castle. "Very well. I'll let Lord Theo know."

"Please hurry! It's affecting the blacksmith's shop for now, but who knows when it'll spread to the other houses!"

* * *

Aishela and Hana were going down the castle hall, heading for their respective rooms to go to bed. Aishela was laughing loudly.

"I can't believe you did that!"

Hana looked away, blushing. "Well, Marvin _dared_ me to do it..."

Aishela was chuckling now. "But starting a brawl between Elgen and Albert? Those two tend to involve multiple people in their fights. I think we all knew it would have been only a matter of time before Gracq got punched in."

"Jeez, I was _drunk_! I wasn't thinking straight!"

"Well, thanks to you, the mess hall certainly lives up to its name now."

"Hey! Some of that mess was caused by _you_. Someone punches you and your first reaction is to smash their body through a table? And it wasn't just one person either. You also threw a few into the wall!"

"And?"

"Unbelievable. You aren't ashamed of what you did? You scared Petr so much that he actually wet himself?"

"The alcohol was making several other guys do the same. I don't think what he did stood out that much. Also, me punching the lights out of some guys just sped up what was going to happen anyway."

"You're -"

At that moment, Siluca came running out of the darkness of the hall to them, making the two women halt. Her sudden appearance was what cut Hana's statement to Aishela off.

"Siluca, what's the matter?" Aishela asked.

"Irvin just informed Sir Theo and I that a Chaos Hazard has appeared at the workshop of one of this land's villages."

"Mr. Lavir's?!" Hana exclaimed.

"I take it you know him?" Siluca asked Hana.

She nodded. "My swords broke while I was defending that village a few months ago. He crafted a new pair and gave them to me free of charge."

"Well, it looks like you'll need to defend that village again. Get your battle gear on. You too, Aishela. We're setting out as soon as everyone's ready."

"Damn... I'll need a bit of time to get my armor on!" Aishela said.

"I know," Siluca replied. "Just hurry! We'll all meet at the front gate!" With that, Siluca turned and rushed back into the darkness. This left Hana and Aishela to sprint down the hall to their rooms. Aishela encountered hers first and hastily entered. Hana only had to dash past a couple more rooms before coming to her own. She threw the door open and quickly grabbed her two swords off the table before turning and running back out of the doorway.

A minute later, Aishela emerged from her own room. She had all of her armor on and was wielding a naginata in one hand.

"Ready?" Hana asked. "Then let's hurry."

She and Aishela rushed to the raised gate to the castle, encountering Theo, Siluca, and Irvin. All were in full battle array.

Hana glanced at the other three. "Don't you think we have more than enough?"

"If that fire really was caused by Chaos then demons could be attracted to it," Siluca replied. "If that happens, who knows how many we'll have to fight off."

"Alright then."

The five then ran out onto the path connecting the nearest village to the castle. The black sky revealed an orange glow coming from the village and the air carried the scent of burning wood that only got stronger the closer to the village the group got.

When they entered the village, the sounds of screaming and crackling flames filled the air. The village seemed to be covered in an orange-red blanket with dancing shadows. The sky above was black not just because it was nighttime but due to the billowing smoke looming over every square inch of the area.

"What happened?!" Theo demanded when the five had gotten to the building engulfed in flame. He directed the question to one of the workshop's workers. All were outside of the flaming shop and staring at the out-of-control pyre.

"We were working when the coal suddenly exploded. Dann Chaos!" the worker replied.

A man was being carried out of the workshop on a makeshift stretcher. The skin over his back was gone and daggers of wood had embedded themselves in the angry red tissue and muscle. Hana gasped.

"Mr. Lavir!"

Siluca was the one who ran over to the groaning man. "I'll heal him!"

Theo faced the villagers who had gathered around to gaze in shock at the roaring fire engulfing the building. "We need to put this fire out now before it spreads!"

Hana was staring at the fire with wide eyes. "Careful guys. The Chaos Hazard here isn't just the fire."

Just as she said that, the blaze seemed to burst. Everyone near the fire covered their faces with one arm to shield it from the searing heat that assailed them.

Theo grit his teeth. "Urgh, what now?!" He moved his arm down from in front of his face in order to confront whatever new threat just arrived. Whatever it was, there was no way he was going to let it cause more harm to his people. After all, a Lord has an obligation to protect his people, right?

A demon was now hovering over the blaze that was still raging. It looked to be made of the fire itself. The only exceptions were the crimson plates on it. They looked like pieces of an insect's exoskeleton. They defined the torso, arms, and head of the monster.

"A Salamander from the Aether World!" Siluca exclaimed.

"This isn't good..." Aishela muttered as she moved in front of Siluca, who was still healing Mr. Lavir, acting as a shield for the teen. Mr. Lavir was unconscious now. Siluca had him ingest a drug with magical properties that knocked him out. This allowed Siluca to begin pulling out the pieces of wood lodged in his back and repair the damaged skin without him crying out in pain.

The Salamander's eyes seemed to lock onto Hana's. That was strange. It just seemed to regard everyone else with a quick glance. Why did it seem so fixated on her? It was almost like it knew her.

"Hana! Watch out!"

Theo's shout snapped Hana back into reality just in time for her to see a beam of fire going right for her. Hana grit her teeth, running Chaos into her legs for a quick escape. But her retreat would be too late. The attack was only a few centimeters from slamming into her now. In fact, she could feel the heat coming from the strike over that of the fire raging in the workshop. The extreme temperature was making her sweat heavily.

_'Gh! Is this... Is this it for me?'_

Someone tackled Hana from the side. She hit the ground a couple of meters away to her right. The fire attack hit empty space instead of her.

"Ugh..." Hana groaned. The back of her head had collided with a tree root jutting slightly out of the ground. But of course, it was better than being burnt black as coal.

"Are you unharmed?"

Hana became aware that the person who pushed her out of harm's way was there.

"I'll have a bump on the back of my head tomorrow, but other then that I'm fine. Thank for that, Irvin."

Then the position their bodies were in fully sunk into Hana. Irvin was on his hands and knees, gazing down at Hana who was completely covered in his shadow. Their faces were only an inch apart. This realization made Hana's cheeks burn bright red and it wasn't due to the blistering heat this time.

"Um, please get off -"

"Take this, you bastard!"

Irvin turned his head so he was looking back over his shoulder. Hana looked around one of the man's arms currently planted on the ground at one side on her neck back at the demon. Theo had drawn his sword and jumped at it. He was the one who had shouted.

"Is he..?! What an idiot!" Hana hissed. The Salamander gave a cry as the sword left a long and deep slice in its left shoulder.

"Did he seriously just attack a demon from the Aether World with a physical strike?" Aishela asked in disbelief. "How stupid is he?!" Unsurprisingly, the wound sealed itself shut when Theo landed. Irvin had gotten off Hana and offered his hand to the mercenary. She took it and he helped her to her feet.

"Dumbass!" Hana shouted at Theo, glaring at him. "You don't use a physical attack on those things!"

"I think I know that now!" Theo retorted. He jumped back, dodging the Salamander's full-body tackle. "So how do we defeat this thing?!"

Siluca stood up. "Take Mr. Lavir out of here! Aishela, you keep that thing busy! Irvin, Hana, get the villagers away from here!"

"Got it!" Aishela, Irvin, and Hana replied.

"What about you?!" Theo demanded.

"I'll take out the demon."

"Wait -"

"Just let her do her thing!" Aishela snapped at him.

Theo pulled Mr. Lavir onto his back. "Fine. I just hope Siluca knows what she's doing."

Aishela smirked. "I wouldn't worry. That's because that girl is a genius."

Siluca began running for the well in the center of the village. The Salamander moved. Aishela held her naginata in both hands. "Oh no you -"

It wasn't going for the retreating mage. It ignored her completely. Instead, it lunged at Hana and swiped at her.

"Give me a break!" Hana spat as she used her swords to block the attack. Why did it always seem like demons have an ax to grind with her?

"Hey! Look over here!"

Aishela's weapon sliced the monster's torso in half. The damaged area regenerated, but the demon didn't turn its attention away from Hana. She had broken the lock with the monster and jumped back.

The ground rumbled as if an earthquake were shaking it. Water seemed to appear from the center of the village and shot out at the demon, engulfing the entire Salamander in an orb of blue liquid. The fire raging from the demon vanished.

"Siluca did it!" Theo cheered from the doorway of the building he had just set the blacksmith down in. Hana took a step back.

"Not quite."

The trapped demon exploded, filling the area the group was in with steam.

Aishela had one arm up, shielding her face. "Siluca!"

Theo slowly made his way to the center of the village. "Siluca! Are you okay?!"

"Can't see a thing..." Hana growled. "But I don't sense Chaos from the demon anymore. It also seems that some of the water was used to put out the fire." The steam was thinning. It was now at the point where Hana could see the entire clearing she was in.

Irvin came over. "So the threat's gone?"

"Seems like it." Hana was still confused. That demon seemed hell-bent on taking her down. But then again, so did every demon. But for what reason?

"Lady Siluca!"

Theo was coming toward them, carrying an unconscious Siluca on his back. Aishela pushed by Irvin as she rushed over to the mage. "Is she alright?!"

"She just collapsed from exhaustion," Theo replied. "I had a discussion with her in my room. She's been pushing herself these last five days. I told her to rest for a few days, but she refused to listen."

"We should probably return to the castle then," Hana said. As they turned and began walking back, a villager stopped them.

"Thank you so much for your help."

"This kind of thing should be a Lord's obligation after all," Theo replied. "So there's no need for thanks."

"Even so, we'd like to express our gratitude. And Mr. Lavir just woke up. He'd like to thank the mage when she awakens. Please stay in our village for the night."

"Maybe I should head back to the castle myself," Hana said.

Theo looked back at her. "Why?"

"You saw how that demon acted. It played no attention to anyone else and was going after me alone. If something about me pisses off demons, then my staying here could put this place in danger."

"You're able to sense approaching demons, aren't you?" Irvin pointed out. "So even if a bunch come, we should have enough time to hide everyone while we drive them off together. There's no reason then for you to be excluded."

"Thanks, Irvin. But I don't want to put this place in anymore danger. I'm going to go back."

"I'll come too." Hana had just began walking back to the castle. Upon hearing Irvin's words, she froze in place and her entire face burned bright red.

"...WHAT?!"

"You could be ambushed by demons on the way back. Besides that, I cannot approve of you wandering outside at night alone."

Hana's face remained red. "...I can take care of myself just fine..."

"Who knows what's lurking in the shadows? You should have at least one other person accompany you."

"Well then, what about Aishela?"

"And leave my precious Siluca alone with this fool of a Lord?!" Aishela exclaimed.

Theo sighed. "You really don't trust me, do you?"

"Gh, fine Irvin! You can come with me, I guess," Hana growled out.

Unseen by any of the others, Aishela smirked. Those two having alone time, no matter how short, would be a great way to see how much Hana could actually take. Whatever the outcome, at least she'd have more to tease the mercenary about.


End file.
